I’m new to this thread so I will share my info per the second post:
11/10 - AMEX Delta Platinum
03/19 - CHASE Sapphire Preferred
12/21 - CHASE Disney Visa
06/22 - AMEX Hilton Honors
03/23 - AMEX Bonvoy Brilliant
04/23 - CHASE Freedom Unlimited
04/23 - CITI Costco Anywhere
2) Secondly we'll want to know a little bit about you. Specifically - what you spend, and what you want to earn!
- What amount of spend would you put on a card monthly (i.e. groceries, gas, insurance, cable, cell phone, other expenses)? $6,000-$9,000
- Do you currently payoff your CCs in full every month or do you carry any balances/pay any interest? Yes, except for 0% Chase Ultimate Freedom used for new annual passes with 0%
- What airport(s) do you typically fly out of? Cincinnati, Fort Myers, Orlando, LaGuardia
- Do you have a preference of Frequent Flyer program? Delta
- Does SOUTHWEST Airline service your airport? Yes
- Do you have a Hotel Rewards program preference? Bonvoy, Hilton
- Do you currently have travel points or miles in any program? (if so, which programs and how much) 100k Delta, 27k Chase Freedom, 175k Chase Ultimate Rewards
- What at your specific goals for churning credit cards? (i.e. Disney World Trip, Cruise, European Trip, Cash Back to pay-off a mortgage or student loans, etc. - you can have multiple goals too!) - pay for any travel, maximize value of points/miles
- When do you plan to take these trips? (Keep in mind that it can be difficult to earn points/miles to cover imminent travel...it's best to plan far in advance, especially with regards to international travel) - whenever
- Who does your travel party consist of? (Spouse, Kids (& ages), other relatives/friends) wife and two teens
I use the Delta Platinum to get to at least Silver Medallion by spending 25k. I recently got the Amex Bonvoy Brilliant cart to get Platinum Elite status for breakfasts, upgrades, free night, restaurant credit, and late checkout.
I use the Citi Costco for 2% cash back at Costco and 4% for gas and charging.
My primary points earning and redemption mechanism is Chase Ultimate Rewards.
I recently got the Chase Freedom Unlimited card to pay for 4 Sorcerer passes with 0% interest for 15 months. I’m proud of myself for saving $760 for the passes with the $200 credit, 1.5c/dollar and 1% back by buying gift cards at Target. This is assuming I can get 2c/point in Ultimate Rewards.
Since I’m new to the game I recently learned that I can earn 1.5 points/dollar using the Ultimate Freedom card, and then transfer those points to my Sapphire Ultimate Rewards. So I plan to use the Ultimate Freedom card for the everyday spending category.
My biggest question is how to maximize my Ultimate Rewards points. TPG talks about finding random flights on airlines such as Virgin. I’ve searched for such flights and it seems like a lot of work/luck. I also read that transferring to Hyatt is a good way to get value. My goal is to get at least 2c/point. I don’t need the “best” deal but want to get good value without a ton of work. What do you do?
Thanks, and I am looking forward to reading this thread and joining the conversation!